The 10 Best Sequels of the Last 10 Years

There’s surely no type of movie Hollywood makes more than sequels. Yes, they produce a lot of superhero films — but a lot of those superhero films are also sequels. The same goes for horror movies, sci-fi movies, films based on video games, and even comedies. When a film in any of those genre hits, the studios make another one. And another. And then eight more after that.

When people buy a ticket to a sequel, they do so with the tacit understanding that it will almost certainly fall short. Sequels rarely match or surpass the original film. But in a few rare cases, sequels do achieve something special, and those are the movies we’re ranking today — the ten best movie sequels released in the last ten years.

As this intro suggests, they come from all across the genre spectrum: Action, superheroes, sci-fi, sports movies, plus a dash of erotic dancer buddy comedies. (My favorite sub-genre!) No matter their story, all ten of these sequels share a certain willingness to innovate. The writers and directors of these films were not content to run back the greatest hits of whatever movie inspired them. Instead, they pushed their series forward with new ideas, new special effects, new characters, and new stories, plus a dash of dudes stripping in new places.

I think we can all agree that Hollywood produces too many sequels; we’d all like to see the studios produce more original concepts and take more risks. But if they are going keep grinding out franchises, they should at least aspire to this level of quality.

Honorable Mention: Avengers: Endgame, Captain America: Civil War, Glass Onion, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Paddington 2, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Star Trek Beyond, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, T2 Trainspotting, War For the Planet of the Apes.

READ MORE: The Worst Movie Sequels Ever Made